Breakdown of Dudábamos que el bandido escapara.
que
that (relative pronoun, conjunction)
escapar
to escape
dudar
to doubt
el bandido
the bandit
Questions & Answers about Dudábamos que el bandido escapara.
Why is the subjunctive used in this sentence?
The verb dudar (to doubt) triggers the subjunctive because it expresses uncertainty. Whenever you state a doubt about an action happening in a dependent clause (introduced by que), the verb in that second part of the sentence must be in the subjunctive.
Why do we use the imperfect subjunctive (escapara) instead of the present subjunctive (escape)?
The tense of the subjunctive verb has to match the timeframe of the main verb. Since the main verb dudábamos (we doubted) is in the past, the subjunctive verb also needs to be in a past tense. If the sentence were in the present tense (We doubt the bandit will escape), you would use the present subjunctive: Dudamos que el bandido escape.
How exactly is the imperfect subjunctive escapara formed?
To form the imperfect subjunctive of a regular verb like escapar, first take the they/them form of the simple past (preterite): escaparon. Then, drop the -ron ending to get your stem (escapa-), and add the imperfect subjunctive ending for he/she/it, which is -ra. This gives you escapara.
Could I say escapase instead of escapara here?
Yes, absolutely! The imperfect subjunctive has two sets of endings that mean exactly the same thing. You could just as easily say Dudábamos que el bandido escapase. The -ra endings are generally more common in spoken Spanish, but both are perfectly correct and widely used.